President Joe Biden’s 2024 was as gaffe-filled as ever, ultimately leading to him dropping out of the presidential race — despite the fact that most of the ‘mainstream media’ and all of his Democrat surrogates, as well as his administration, swore to the end that he was mentally fit, stable, and running the country. The Daily Caller rounded up those top moments as pundits and voters alike reflect on 2024.
Joe Biden vs. Special Counsel Robert Hur
The then 81-year-old President Joe Biden made one of his most notable gaffes of the year during a closed-door interview with special counsel Robert Hur. In the subsequent report on Biden’s handling of classified documents, Hur declined to press charges, citing the possibility that a jury might view the president as “a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.”
Hur highlighted Biden’s memory lapses during their five-hour interview, noting that he forgot the date of his late son’s death as well as the timeline of his vice presidency. The situation escalated after the report’s release when Biden held an impromptu press conference to criticize Hur for bringing up his late son’s death. However, a transcript of the interview, previously obtained by the Daily Caller, revealed that Biden himself had introduced the topic, contradicting his public statements.
This is a much-discussed portion of Robert Hur’s interview with Joe Biden in which Biden piles on the misstatements. Biden stumbles on the year Donald Trump was elected president. He suggests he, Biden, was leaving the Senate in 2017 when in fact he was leaving the vice… pic.twitter.com/bnf4YilQtf
— Byron York (@ByronYork) March 12, 2024
Biden Corrected By the White House 148 Times In Four-Month Period
A Daily Caller analysis revealed that between January and April 24, the White House communications staff corrected official transcripts of President Biden’s remarks at least 148 times. Whenever the president delivers a speech or answers questions, the White House releases an official transcript. The Daily Caller review found that these transcripts often include corrections or modifications, such as fixing names, dates, and titles of organizations.
Some edits went further, altering verbs or significantly changing the meaning of the president’s statements. In certain instances, words that Biden did not say but seemingly should have were added to clarify or complete his intended message. In at least one case, the White House put out a transcript that falsely portrayed what Biden said out loud.
At an April event, Biden seemingly read the word “pause” off of his teleprompter; however, the original White House transcript of the president’s remarks did not include the word “pause” — it wrote “(inaudible).” An updated version of the transcript was later updated to include the president’s “pause” as well as the “(inaudible).”
Biden Said ‘We Beat Medicare’
Biden’s performance in the June debate was disastrous and ultimately resulted in his exit from the 2024 presidential race. One moment in particular stood out: when attempting to respond to a question about the national debt and taxes, Biden seemed to freeze. CNN host Jake Tapper quickly intervened, cutting Biden off and directing a question to Trump.
“We would be able to wipe out his debt. We’d be able to help make sure that all those things we need to do, childcare, elder care, making sure that we continue to strengthen our healthcare system, making sure that we are able to make every single solitary person eligible for what I have been able to do with the COVID – excuse me, dealing with everything we have to do with,” the president continued before pausing and looking down.
“Look, we finally beat Medicare,” Biden said after pausing for several moments. “I really don’t know what he said at the end of that sentence, I don’t think he knows what he said either,” Trump said after Biden trailed off at one point.
Biden Refers To Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin As ‘The Black Man’
hortly after the June presidential debate, President Biden participated in an interview with Black Entertainment Television (BET). During the interview, Biden appeared to forget the name of his Defense Secretary, Lloyd Austin, and referred to him as “the Black man.”
Biden Calls His Defense Secretary ‘The Black Man’ After He Appears To Forget His Name pic.twitter.com/6RFBxBtged
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) July 18, 2024
“And so, it’s all about, it’s all about treating people with dignity. And it’s about making sure that — look, I mean, for example — look at [the heat I’m getting] because I named a, uh, the secretary of defense, the black man,” Biden said. “I named [Supreme Court Justice] Ketanji Brown, I mean, because of the people I’ve named,” Biden continued. Brown, by the way, could not define what a “woman” was during her confirmation hearings but was nevertheless approved by a Democrat-controlled Senate.
Biden Refers To Trump Supporters As ‘Garbage’
While it may not technically qualify as a gaffe if the president intended his remarks, this moment created challenges for both the White House and the vice president’s campaign.During an October get-out-the-vote call with Voto Latino, President Biden referenced a joke by comedian Tony Hinchcliffe at a Trump rally before remarking that the only garbage “floating out there is his supporters.” His comments coincided with Vice President Kamala Harris’s closing arguments for her campaign, overshadowing her key moment.
In response to the backlash, the White House released a written transcript of Biden’s remarks, altering “supporters” to “supporter’s” and claiming Biden was referring to Hinchcliffe rather than Trump voters. However, The Associated Press later revealed that White House stenographers had recorded Biden as saying “supporters” in the official transcript. The press office reportedly issued the modified version after “conferring with the president.”
Disclaimer: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author’s opinion.